The Fish

Dogtooth Tuna

These are the toughest fish on the reef!  The Myrmidon and Flinders Reef areas boast most of the current Australian and World records for this species.  Just another great fishing work out while experiencing a Utopia Charters Outer Great Barrier Reef Adventure.

The Dogtooth Tuna is a large fast-swimming fish in the family Scombridae.  It is not a true tuna, but is closely related to the bonitos.  It has the large teeth and straight edged first dorsal fin characteristic of all bonito.  Appreciated as both a game fish and a food fish, a large specimen can give a good struggle.  It is very common throughout its range and a near shore fish, with smaller fish in shallow reef areas and larger ones in deep reef drop off areas.  It will readily attack most fish that will fit in its mouth: like mackerels and sardines.

This species is brilliant blue to black above and silver below.  It grows to 1.6m in length.  The Dogtooth Tuna is a tropical species that is often seen cruising along coral reef drop offs.  It has a wide distribution through parts of the Indian Ocean to the Central Pacific.

The fish is known in Samoa and some other Pacific nations as Tagi.